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'Embodiment of Evil' Announced & Detailed for Blu-ray[teaser]It has been thirty years, but Coffin Joe is back on the prowl, this time in high-definition this February. [/teaser] Synapse Films has announced 'Embodiment of Evil' for Blu-ray on February 8. The film is directed by and stars Portuguese filmmaker José Mojica Marins and is the third film in the 'Coffin Joe' trilogy, following 'At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul' (1964) and 'This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse' (1967). The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements will include: Featurette: Making of Embodiment of Evil, Footage from the Fantasia Film Festival premiere, and the original theatrical trailer. The release also will be a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is still undetermined at this time. You can find the latest specs for 'Embodiment of Evil' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 8.Posted Tue Nov 23, 2010 at 10:00 AM PST by: -
Panasonic Adds Vudu to 2010 Blu-ray Player Lineup[teaser]1080p movie rentals and purchases are live November 24th on Viera Cast enabled Blu-ray players. [/teaser] Isn't the internet connected world great? That Viera Cast enabled Panasonic Blu-ray player you bought earlier this year is getting added functionality that you don't even have to do anything for. Starting Wednesday November 24th, you'll be able to access the Vudu online video service. If you're not familiar with Vudu, it's the rental service that comes closest to Blu-ray quality with its streams, earning plenty of praise along the way. There's a huge selection starting at just $2 for a two day rental. "Connected TV will continue to become an increasingly important feature for consumers," says Panasonic VP Merwan Mereby. "Panasonic is working tirelessly to build upon the already robust entertainment and connectivity experiences our Viera Cast customers can enjoy." The new update will apply to the BDT100, 300, and 350 as well as the BD65, BD85 and B500 portable Blu-ray player. Source: PR NewswirePosted Tue Nov 23, 2010 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
'Let Me In' Blu-ray Announced[teaser]The Swedish horror remake from Director Matt Reeves ('Cloverfield') is coming to Blu-ray in February. [/teaser] In an announcement to retailers, Starz/Anchor Bay says 'Let Me In' starring Chloë Moretz ('Kick-Ass') and Kodi Smit-McPhee ('The Road') is coming to Blu-ray on February 1. Based on the Swedish novel, Let the Right One In, “'Let Me In' is a dark and violent love story, a beautiful piece of cinema and a respectful rendering of my novel for which I am grateful.” (John Ajvide Lindqvist, author). The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements will include: Audio commentary with director Matt Reeves, From the Inside: A Look at the Making of Let Me In, The Art of Special Effects, Unrated deleted scenes, Car crash sequence step-by-step, Trailer and Poster Galleries, and a Blu-ray exclusive Dissecting Let Me In. The Blu-ray will also include a digital copy and for a limited time a prequel comic book from Dark Horse Comics. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $39.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Let Me In' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 1.Posted Tue Nov 23, 2010 at 08:00 AM PST by: -
'A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]The Chinese remake of the Coen brothers' 'Blood Simple' is coming to Blu-ray in February. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Sony has revealed Zhang Yimou's 'A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop' starring Sun Hunglei and Xiao Shenyang will be headed to the Blu-ray format on February 1. Specs have yet to be revealed and the only supplement will be - Creating 'A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop.' Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is set at $38.96. You can find the latest specs for 'A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 1.Posted Tue Nov 23, 2010 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
HDD Deal of the Day: 'Harry Potter Years 1-6 Giftset' $39.99 at Amazon[teaser]The box set of the first six Harry Potter films is over 60 percent off today at Amazon![/teaser] The online retailer is now selling 'Harry Potter Years 1-6 Giftset' for $39.99 (60% off suggested retail price). The set contains 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,' 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,' 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,' 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,' 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,' and 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.' The offer can be viewed here and will only be available while supplies last until midnight PST.Posted Tue Nov 23, 2010 at 06:11 AM PST by: -
'Chaplin' Dated for Blu-ray[teaser]Robert Downey Jr. embodies the legendary comic genius on Blu-ray this February. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Lionsgate will be bringing Richard Attenborough's 'Chaplin' co-starring Marisa Tomei, Kevin Kline, Anthony Hopkins and many more to high-definition on February 15. Robert Downey Jr. received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor for his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin. Specs and supplements have yet to be revealed, but suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $19.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Chaplin' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 15.Posted Tue Nov 23, 2010 at 06:00 AM PST by: -
Netflix Streaming-Only Service Launches – DVD and Blu-ray Pricing Goes Up[teaser]Though it's a huge boon for streaming customers, Blu-ray fans will likely feel ripped off. [/teaser] If you've been using Netflix for the sole purpose of streaming movies and TV shows, there's some good news. Netflix has officially launched a streaming only service for just $7.99 a month. That's the same price as Hulu Plus, but with much more content, if not quite as up-to-date. DVD pricing has gone up, unfortunately. The plan for one DVD at a time has scaled from $8.99 to $9.99, and the plan for two at a time has gone up a dollar as well. Above that, it goes by a dollar per disc. Want three at a time? That'll be an extra $3. Want four at a time? You'll be paying $27.99 instead of $23.99. Adding Blu-ray to your account is still a $2 upcharge, but the increase in DVD pricing means Blu-ray pricing has gone up too, with the 28 day delay for many movies still firmly in place. Existing DVD and Blu-ray customers, any of you wondering what you're getting for the extra money? The apparent answer is nothing. If you're only getting two a month, it's still only a dollar increase though, so by no means is it a huge increase. The Official Netflix Blog says that there is no DVD-only or Blu-ray-only plan in the works, since the majority of content is watched online as it is. Source: The Official Netflix BlogPosted Mon Nov 22, 2010 at 06:00 PM PST by: -
High-Def Digest Picks The Top Twelve Most Successful BAD Movies Of All Time[teaser]Every year it's more of the same. More sequels, remakes, and rehashes. Every year some noble journalist figures out that the movie-going audience is in for more sequels, remakes, and rehashes, and dutifully hypothesizes that Hollywood is more into remaking than making. Yet, every year, what seems to be missing in all of these genius declaratives is The Why.[/teaser] Why must there be more sequels, remakes, and rehashes? Why must there be a never ending onslaught of unwatchable cinematic abortions? The answer is surprisingly simple: It's your fault. People not only seem to like bad movies, they LOVE bad movies. Swoon over bad movies. Flock to bad movies like hordes of brain-dead Zombies breaking box office record after box office record (even dubious ones: Yes! The number one R-rated movie to ever open on a Tuesday directly after a mid-term election!!!). We vote with our dollars at cinemas and Best Buy checkout counters. And we have elected to be served a reheated pile of crap. Sequels, remakes, reimaginings, and motion pictures based on board games. So clap yourself on the back and sit back for the ultimate list of the Top Twelve Most Successful Bad Movies ever made (yes, Twelve; Ten is so passé). These are your Prom Kings and Queens who will hopefully, in a few short years, be long forgotten and fat, all because they peaked too soon and only in the shallowest of terms. The criteria for this list, it should be noted, must be a single movie or film franchise that has made over $300 Million Dollars & be available on Blu-ray before the end of 2010. All figures are only approximate worldwide theatrical box office gross numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo. These numbers do no include DVD/Blu-ray, book sales, or any other ancillary means of revenue. There are most certainly movies that are worse than this lot, but they probably didn't make as much money, or they might not be out yet on Blu-ray. 12. 'Gone With The Wind' Who would ever want to watch this four hour snooze-fest!?! It may be the most successful film ever made with an unadjusted worldwide box office gross of 400.2 million dollars. In today's money, this film would have made an impossible $1.6 Billion in the U.S. alone. But this movie is horrid! Just kidding. Really. Calm down. Having a wee bit of fun with the start of the list and making a small point. Lists are arbitrary and subjective. One man's gold is another man's junk. So sit back, relax, and feel free to hit up the forums with your own list of titanic clunkers. And now, the REAL LIST… 12. 'Superman Returns' - $391.1 Million The one good thing you can say for this movie is they got the music and the casting right. But everything is such a cartoony mess where the logic and the rules of its own universe need not apply. Of course Superman can lift an entire subcontinent of kryptonite into space when earlier encounters with much smaller chunks damn near cripple him. 11. 'The Mummy Returns' - $415.9 Million While the first film isn't necessarily an Oscar winner, it was a fun romp and among the better Indiana Jones ripoffs. It had pacing, humor, and adventure. But here in movie number two, we get a carbon copy retread of the first adventure. But this time, instead of a wall of sand, a wall of…water. Which should be a most exciting and/or terrifying prospect: trapped in a canyon, racing at break-neck speed to avoid a torrent of wet death. But no. This sequence, among many others, is so badly staged, the whole thing falls flat. And, the Scorpion King looked like a cartoon. 10. 'Pearl Harbor' - $449.2 Million Blame James Cameron for this. 'Titanic' was so well done and made so much money EVERYONE needed their own version of a romance set against a historical tragedy. But Randall Wallace, Michael Bay, and Jerry Bruckheimer's take on the day that will live in infamy is beyond embarrassing. Sure, it looks slick and polished, and there are about 45 minutes of action somewhere in the middle, but the character arcs are hackneyed and the movie is so bloated there are actually two movies stuffed in here. The first about Pearl Harbor itself, and the second one about Dolittle's Raid because the filmmakers didn’t actually have the guts to make a tragedy. So they glossed over a terrible day and then gave it a V for victory. It's a real F-U to all the lives lost on that day. 9. 'Troy' - $497.4 Million Blame Ridley Scott. With the resurgence of the sword & sandal epic, EVERYONE needed their 'Gladiator'. There were actually a number Troy scripts floating around Hollywood and it’s a real shame that this is what was made. There were better. Here in Wolfgang Petersen's version, we get what is supposed to be a grounded, realistic take on the classic Greek myth. But it's bad all around. No chemistry in the love department. No real sense why everyone is doing what they're doing. And as HDD's Peter M. Bracke wrote in his Blu-ray review, Pitt's accent makes us imagine what it would be like if Jeff Spicoli were to have been cast in 'Gladiator'. The real sin, though, is that despite the authentic realism, that Achilles (yes, as in the heel) is still SPOILER ALERT: killed by an arrow to the heel. END SPOILER. Are you kidding me? It's boring, bloated, and at the end of the day, laughable. 8. 'Quantum of Solace' - $586.1 Million Are we starting to see a trend yet? Someone makes a really good movie or starts a franchise off with promise, and things go downhill fast. The problem, though, is that most sequels do the business that the first movie should have done. 'QoS' or 'Bond 21' had a everything going for it. A Bond unlike any other we've ever seen before had just been introduced in the fantastic 'Casino Royale'. A Bond who actually fell in love, only to be betrayed, leaving us with a damaged man. Along comes 'Quantum' which fails for many reasons. 1) The title is thematic, but stupid. 2) It pretends to be a revenge story, but Bond's love interest from 'Casino Royale' wasn't actually murdered. She SPOILER ALERT committed suicide, END SPOILER so there's nothing to avenge. 3). The directing style is pretentious and unexciting. Really? Cross-cutting between a horse race which has nothing to do with the plot and our foot chase? Or the opera? Snooze. 4) Kudos for trying to ground the villains with something different, but SPOILER it's about water??? END SPOILER. No one cares. 7. 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' - $786.6 Million Shia is the only one involved with this movie who had the guts to say it wasn't good, but then again, he let Spielberg play him for a damn monkey in one of the action scenes! Word on the street is that Spielberg feels the same way and said so during private screenings at Dreamworks. This movie is a mess. I can forgive "flying in a fridge," but in the end 'Indiana Jones and the Cyrstal Skull' has too many acts, too much subpar CGI, and of course there's a scene, referenced above, where Indiana Jones' son (surprise!) swings on vines to catch up with a car chase (say what?). And that's not even the most offensive part about that sequence! The filmmakers make it a specific point of saying, we're cutting through this remote jungle with giant saw blades on our trucks (because it's a dense jungle, right?) to make a road. And then when a car, truck, and vine chase breaks out…vehicles now magically race side by side through a jungle that was so dense they needed giant freakin' saw blades to get through it. Come on! And don't even get me started on the anti-climax. And by the way, anyone who says this movie is as good as 'Temple of Doom' needs a head examination. 6. 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' - $804.4 Million The original 'Alvin' and 'The Squeakquel' are pretty much non-movies. We can forgive kids for not knowing better, or families choosing this for lack of better options during the holiday movie season because the TV series was good. But this franchise is a lame pastiche of recycled jokes and stereotypes where the main characters have a habit of "accidentally" eating their own poop. Har har. But, from a financial perspectives, they've saved more than one fiscal year for parent company Fox, so we're doomed to more. Heaven help us if a similar perfect storm of evil makes 'Yogi Bear' a hit. Readers, we must not let that happen! 5. Spider-Man 3 - $890.9 Million In the Spider-Man franchise, the second film was terrific, and then we were given this. Too many villains. A nonsensical plot. And a disco dancing montage in the middle of the film. 'Spider-Man 3' suffers from a tired group of ideas, spending more money and adding more characters and villains to make up for lack of inspiration. Another case of having a bottomless budget and no clear vision. It rips off the first two movies and makes some brazen mistakes (Flint Marko was involved with his Uncle's Death how?). It's also a film of too many coincidences (Peter Parker already has spider genes in him, and then an alien meteor attaches itself to him, and then an escaped convict who many have killed his uncle gets turned into the sand man???). Further, Topher Grace may be the least scary human being ever. And can we please have a Spider-Man movie that doesn't involve Mary Jane hanging from something high and dangerous during the film's climax? We know she's not going to die. 4. 'The Chronicles of Narnia' - $1.1647 Billion 'The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe' and 'Prince Caspian' are all spectacle and no heart. The sad part is how fake these look despite their monster budgets. The first movie feels like a low rent 'Lord of the Rings'. There are all the speeches about destiny and doing what's right, but we never get into caring about the world. Why do these kids risk it all for these characters? In the books, it makes sense, but here we never get to know anyone except for the talking beavers and the talking lion so there's little emotional resonance. It feels like a paint-by-the-numbers Epic. Also, the White Witch's little sidekick doesn't seem to be in the same movie. 'Prince Caspian' is worse, and the main reason this film franchise is on the list. It's laughably acted, and the "exciting" climax is set around defending a small bridge and preventing an army from crossing. But when the bridge collapses, the army simply cross the river anyway. 3. 'The Matrix Reloaded' & 'The Matrix Revolutions' - $1.1694 Billion 'The Matrix' was a refreshing blend of action, science fiction, and philosophy. But in the category of "we should have told the filmmakers NO more often" come the second and third films in the franchise. They are an incoherent mess of long speeches and characters no one cares about. Further, now that we know the Matrix isn't real and that Neo is basically God while in it, any time spent there isn't as tense as it could be. Sadly, the film's real world is even less exciting. But despite all of these issue, the second two-thirds of this trilogy have one glaring problem: they're boring. An action movie can fail on almost every level, and still be considered good. But most offensive of all is boredom. It's unforgiveable with this amount of money being spent. Granted, there are parts of these films that work (the car chase is pretty damn exhilarating), but what's meant to be intelligence boils down to emptiness because there's nothing to connect to on an emotional level. 2. 'Transformers' & 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' - $1.5453 Billion I’m sure many of you thought these were going to be number one on the list. Or perhaps you're frothing mad because you liked the first 'Transformers' and hate to see it included. Sure it's pretty much a given that ROTF isn't even a real movie, and Rob Bricken over at Topless Robot says all that I could ever say about the reasons why (seriously, read what he said, it's amazing). But both of these movies are stinking piles of rubbish. Yes, the special effects and sound design elements are admittedly perfect, but Michael Bay is becoming a terrible action director. Yes, that's right. A terrible action director. He couldn't even direct wrestling for the WWE. And no it's not because the pacing is too fast for us to keep up. He simply doesn't understand simple structural tools involved with character and suspense which are as follows: 1) A Hero we love has an impossible goal, but 2) there is something really dangerous in his way, and in trying to get the impossible goal 3) the hero comes very close to dying, but 4) achieves that goal or 5) fails and is now in a much more dangerous position. It's easy, but Mr. Bay doesn't even bother (he used to do it really well – see 'The Rock' or even 'The Island'). He can't even direct a car chase any more. Or a foot chase. Or a fist fight. Essentially, there are no "set pieces" in the 'Transformers' movies, only spectacle (for a good look at how to direct an action movie, see Tony Scott's 'Unstoppable.' It's an edge-of-your seat nail biter where you feel like at any moment our heroes are going to get crushed, blown up, or fall from a speeding locomotive.) And the rules about when magical Cubes bring things to live and/or kill things don't make any sense. These are horrid, horrid movies, which are apparently made by committee. 1. 'The Twilight Saga' - $1.7937 Billion To be fair, 'Twilight' isn't the worst movie ever made. It's clunky, poorly cast, and insults all known vampire mythology, but it served its silly, swooning fans well enough. And in many, many ways, the film is actually much better than Stephanie Meyer's poorly written novel. But then came 'New Moon'. 'New Moon' may be the worst movie on this list; it's just a lucky coincidence that this awful franchise has made more money than any other featured here. 'New Moon' was a numbing, I-wanted-to-stab-my-eyes-out cinematic experience. It was a feature length film where nothing happened except whiny crying for over two hours. Nothing. The film's only villain just ran around in the woods and went swimming now and again. And let's talk about the romance. It's bullshit, ladies. Edward will never pick any of you. He's a hundred years old and anyone in high school is literally too dumb for him. But let's say that he did pick you. There's no reason why these two can't be together. None. Romantic dramas work, as John August so eloquently wrote because A) characters we give a shit about are B) kept apart for a credible reason. Romeo & Juliet: our parents hate each other. Here, Bella's Dad seems okay that her daughter goes off a lot with the creepy guy who is never outdoors in direct daylight! 'Eclipse' is admittedly better than 'New Moon', but that really isn't saying much. The werewolf special effects still look like shit, and there could have been so much more done with a vampire / werewolf battle sequence. Thankfully, there are only two of these left and the world can move on. We hope. So there we have it. The Top Twelve Most Successful Bad Movies (or Franchises). What do you think? What would be on your list? Discuss, share, and argue in the forums below. But remember, they're only movies. Let's keep it civil.Posted Mon Nov 22, 2010 at 04:05 PM PST by: -
High-Def Digest Gets to Play in Dolby's Sandboxby Michael S. Palmer [teaser]Last week, our friends over at Dolby were kind enough to fly a few home theatre journalists up to San Francisco to participate in the inaugural Dolby Fidelity Forum.[/teaser] Apparently FTC guidelines mandate that I inform y'all Dolby picked up said tab. In the same spirit of keeping everything transparent: I was provided with one round trip ticket from Los Angeles to San Francisco, one night in a hotel, and one delicious glass of 12-year-old Macallan single-malt scotch whiskey which I ordered neat. The other folks on the trip also got a free dinner, but sadly I had to leave early. Clearly anything else you read about the Dolby Fidelity Forum by any other writer will be one dinner's-worth more biased. Hell, I'd write just about anything for a free dinner (This just in…Sky No Longer Blue and VHS Poised to Take Back Home Video Market from Blu-ray). While in San Francisco, it was openly communicated that no coverage of said event was required. But what the hell, I had such a good time I figured I'd share. This first-ever Fidelity Forum was a chance to for us laymen to meet the geniuses who work at Dolby Laboratories, a gorgeous brick walled, open beamed, converted burlap sack factory. And no, that's not a bias. These guys are literal geniuses (they make Mensa look stupid). Imagine one day you're sitting around, bored, and you decide to do some calculus. For fun. And in doing your best Will Hunting chalk board scribbling impression, you invent a brand new mathematical algorithm which is then developed into a software program like Dolby Pro Logic IIz, or Dolby Digital Plus. It's mind boggling. So much so, that I aim to stop contemplating it in three…two…one… Where was I? Oh yes, so my dumb ass was let into the hallowed halls wherein Sound is made soundier (not a direct quote). Here's a recap of what we experienced: Part One: Dolby in the Cinema November marks 40 years in Dolby Cinema history, which started in 1970 with Dolby A Noise Reduction. By 1977's 'Star Wars' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', they had created Dolby Stereo. 1992's 'Batman Returns' gave birth to AC-3, or Dolby Digital. In 1999, Dolby Digital Surround EX premiered with 'The Phantom Menace.' Dolby 3D debuted with 'Beowulf' in 2007 with the goal of making 3D more affordable for exhibitors (Dolby 3D utilizes existing screens versus more expensive ones, and 500-use reusable glasses). And as I've already covered, Dolby 7.1 premiered on Disney / Pixar's 'Toy Story 3' earlier this year. Currently, there are 1,000 cinemas worldwide set up for 7.1 and in the last six months, seven films have be mixed theatrically for 7.1 (which will then translate directly to Blu-ray in either 7.1 TrueHD or DTS-HD MA) including 'Tron Legacy', 'Step Up 3D', 'Tangled', 'Megamind', and the third Narnia film. Personally, I had yet to demo 7.1 theatrically, but had read a few reviews where in the reviewer wasn't blown away. For this, we entered Dolby's "working laboratory" theater. This is a custom crafted auditorium which sits on polypropylene blocks and is completely isolated from the rest of the building. Further, the seats were designed in such a way as to replicate the sound environment of a full house regardless of how many people are in there. In short, it was the best sounding theatre I've ever been to. It made me want to throw my home speakers off my balcony and burn down my local cineplex (by the way, if my local movie theatre happens to coincidentally burn down, I was WAY joking just a minute ago, geesh). For our demo purposes, we not only heard great mixes, but also learned more about bringing 7.1 to theatres. As I've said before, upgrading an auditorium already equipped for Dolby Digital EX to Dolby 7.1 is relatively easy, quick, and cheap. It required a free firmware upgrade and an extra $100 audio cable. But first Dolby had to prove to Pixar that 7.1 would actually make a difference in their films. So Dolby took 'Toy Story 2' to Skywalker Sound and re-mixed two sequences (crossing the street to the toy barn, and Barbie's tour which ends in gumballs flying everywhere). The Pixar team was so impressed, they agreed to mix 'Toy Story 3' in 7.1, but Dolby still had to convince exhibitors 7.1 was worth the investment. For this, they returned to Skywalker Sound with scenes from 'Finding Nemo' (fish are our friends), 'Up' (escaping the cave with the dogs chasing), and 'The Incredibles' (Dash learns to run on water, and the family teams up for the first time). In 2D we screened all of the above along with this Dolby 7.1 logo, this Dolby 7.1 logo, and the initial 'Tron Legacy' teaser (the one that premiered a couple years ago at Comic-Con) in 5.1. I’m officially sold on 7.1 in cinemas and homes. I love it. Instead of always watching the screen, I closed my eyes much of the time to let the sound tell the full story. The results are impressive and in direct comparison, audibly more immersive than standard 5.1, in my humble one-man's opinion. It's a little hard to describe, but the extra discrete channels seem to pull the audience forward. I felt more in the world. It was both a subtle a change over a 5.1 soundscape, and much more dynamic. For example, 360 degree pans were more precise. And there were interesting moments where music and/or sound effects could be placed only in the side channels, or only in the back channels. Meaning, something could launch off screen center and travel directly to the back which made it feel like that something had traveled over your head. I really enjoy this format, and look forward to finding my nearest 7.1 cinema and adding two more speakers to my home system. Next, we turned to 'Toy Story 3' and two scenes from 'Avatar' (which Dolby had also remixed into 7.1) for our Dolby 3D demo. Here I'm more torn. My favorite 3D experience thus far is in the large, super bright screens of real IMAX. I have to admit that going directly from digital 2D projection to 3D was the first time I noticed how much darker 3D is in comparison. Images were not as clear or colorful, which is a shame because both films sounded great in 7.1. I didn't get a chance to talk to Dolby reps in depth about this, but I did get the sense that they are working on it. Hopefully in the near future, we'll get a 3D exhibition experience where brightness isn't an issue. Click here to find Dolby 7.1 equipped cinemas near you. Part Two: Dolby Anywhere After leaving the Dolby Theater, we went to two more demos. The first was called a "Day in the Life of a Mixer." This was a fun session where Dolby explained how they will sometimes take popular You Tube music videos (like This Too Shall Pass by OK Go) and remix them into 7.1 to use for demo purposes. Dolby also collaborates with the San Francisco Symphony to record and mix performances for the PBS series 'Keeping Score'. I find it quite impressive that they can use different mixing techniques to give listeners choices in how to hear the same recording. For instance, there could be a 7.1 mix which resembles a traditional stereo mix -- side and rear channels are left as ambient or audience or hall sounds. Or, one could elect to hear 7.1 music as if he or she were sitting in the middle of the orchestra. Hopefully in the future, more music-based Blu-rays will offer these kinds of multi-angle or multi-location experiences. Next, we went into Dolby's Demo Room which featured a 9.2 home Pro Logic IIz set up including two front height speakers and six floor-standing full range loudspeakers for the front, side, and rear channels. Here we spoke about Dolby's goals of being available anywhere on all screens including cinemas, televisions, computers, and mobile devices. We demo'd Pro Logic IIz using 'I Am Legend' (the scene where he's driving the Mustang around the city) flipping the height channels off and on. I'll admit this was a little harder for me hear, most likely because the floor-standing speakers were so good they already made everything in the room sound full and tall. But there was an audible difference. Things like birds leaping into the air and other non-directional sounds were no longer relegated at ear level. I'd like to spend more time with Pro Logic IIz. Perhaps most impressive is the addition of Dolby Mobile on the phones like the Nokia A8. The phone, which has a mini-HDMI output for connection to HDTVs and AV Receivers has a 720p video out and can run Dolby Digital Plus. For the second time that day, we watched the 'Tron Legacy' teaser trailer, and while it certainly isn't competing with Blu-ray or Dolby TrueHD, the video looked on par with most cable channels and sounded pretty darn good. HD on phones might not appeal to everyone, but Dolby asked us to imagine emerging markets like India. There, a person's first HD device might not be cable or Blu-ray, but rather their phone which they can hook up to a large TV (our demo TV had to be at least 50-inches) and enjoy a relatively solid picture. Well done on that. Part Three: Dolby's Sandbox Ah, the best for last. Well, technically, only last for me as I missed a round table discussion and, sigh, dinner. Moving on… In my favorite part of the day we huddled into a small, former conference room with padding on every wall and speakers standing and hanging all around us. How many, exactly? Anyone out there in the mood for 23.1 surround sound? Jigga-whaaa??? Nope, not kidding. Welcome to Dolby's Sandbox. A room which boasts 24 channels of surround sound. That's 16 speakers at ear level, 6 elevated, 1 directly overhead, and 1 subwoofer. I know what you're thinking. 7.1 or 9.2 are already too many speakers for most people to handle. These guys must be crazy if they think I'm going to buy that much gear. Well, they may be a little crazy (in a mad scientist way), but they're not foolish enough to think this is a set up for everyone. So what exactly are they experimenting with and trying to achieve? Well, dear readers, they're studying "phantom imaging." You know how if you listen to headphones or any stereo source and even though there are only two speakers, it sounds like parts of the music is somehow coming from dead center. Tah-dah. Phantom imaging. Dolby's end-goal, it seems, was to figure out how many speakers were necessary to create a fully immersive, 360-degree surround sound experience. Eventually they settled on this 24 channel set up and just like going from 5.1 to 7.1, what a difference discrete mixing makes on this many speakers. We listened to recordings from 'Batman Forever', the score from 'Once Upon A Time in the West', an airplane flying over head, and an off Broadway musical. Jumping from a standard 5.1 to a full 24 channels was startling. The airplane was the best experience; it didn't feel like surround sound anymore…it felt real. The movie clip and the musical were just as interesting. Surround sound pans and voice locations were extra precise and enveloping. But how does this translate to the real world? Again, most of us -- even early adopters -- aren't going to be installing 23.1 systems in our homes. And can you imagine trying to mix every form of cinematic content discretely in 24 channels? It's a pretty big challenge, but here's where it gets really freakin' cool: Dolby wants to develop a universal sound format that is "direction oriented" rather than being locked to a specific number of channels. A format which can be blown up to 24 channels if you want, or shrunk down to 6 as is standard. What this means is that anyone with a home cinema can have systems ranging from 5.1 to an entire hemisphere of sound (ala the 23.1), all feeding off of the same soundtrack. To experiment with this notion, Dolby took 24 channel discrete mixes and boiled them down to 5.1. Then, using that math I cited earlier to create something akin to a Pro Logic, they blew the 5.1 back up to 24 channels using a matrix based off of phantom imaging. The results were fascinating. With my eyes closes, they sounded nearly identical. And it's exciting to imagine a home cinema world with a half hemisphere of surround sound (if that's what you want). But here's the remaining challenge. In the current, experimental form, the matrixing of the phantom images causes some aberrations. For example, when listening to the 5.1 mix of the off Broadway musical blown back up to 24 channels, we isolated channel 10 to see what was on it. Unlike the discrete version where channel 10 only played channel 10, in this "matrixed channel 10" played channel 10 along with bits and pieces from other channels (Does that actually make any sense to someone who was not there? If no, let me know, and we'll talk further.). It was muddy, and something Dolby is unsatisfied with. I’m sure they'll work to improve this unnamed "universal format" until its of audiophile grade. But wow, just…wow. I'm still not sure I really understand it, or half the things we experience at the Fidelity Forum. It's all beyond me, but at the same time, the day was all to short. I'm looking forward to more surround in my local cinemas as well as on any screen I can find. And the future…the universal surround format…getting anything like it, or built from it, will be exciting times for anyone who loves music, movies, or television. Thanks again to all our friends at Dolby for such a great day.Posted Mon Nov 22, 2010 at 02:15 PM PST by: -
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